Author Archives: Sarah Castor

About Sarah Castor

Hi, I'm a Junior studying Communications! I am primarily a part of a Christian campus organization called Cru and I love singing!

Goodness: A Review of the Semester

Posted on by

This past Monday, Ty and other Rose House scholars, including myself, gathered around a table in Rose one last time to talk about our semesters. I had the pleasure of hearing about other’s goals this semester, remembering how beautifully different we are from each other. However, my own review of the semester had its pros, and its cons.

The Sweet

There were many areas that God really worked in this semester. I saw a significant improvement in my involvement in communities at Cornell, specifically Christian community. I learned a lot about career and my own path, getting a lot more specific in career towards the end of the semester. There are other things in and around me that miraculously occurred or transformed before my eyes, and I am grateful for that.

The Bitter

There were some things I learned being out of the country that I wanted to share with others, but never got around to doing. There were events I was supposed to sign up for much sooner, and people I wanted to talk to again after many months of silence. Whether gripped by fear, bitterness, anger, laziness, or inadequacy, I wasn’t able to do these things.

The Resolution

As for the past few months, they were still good. It’s ok that things didn’t go as planned. They still resulted in a lot of good. God has been good.

I still want to put my foot down and actually do the things I put off for so long, Lord-willing, before the semester ends.

 

Kanye, a Christian: The Attributes of a Christian in the Eyes of God

Posted on by

Although we set out to talk about songs that characterized significant times in our lives, last week’s Table Talk focused on Kanye West’s new album, Jesus is King. As a member of many Christian circles here on campus, I have heard his name come up time and time again throughout that week. Even though the table talk helped me see the situation from a different perspective, I couldn’t help but consider Kanye West as a human being. When a celebrity like Chance the Rapper or Justin Bieber pronounces their faith, I can’t help but think that they are just like me.

From my perspective, a Christian:

  1. is saved from receiving the punishment of every wrong deed and thought,
  2. is saved not because he is special and perfect…
  3. but because he knows that he does a lot wrong,
  4. knows that those wrongdoings keep him from a loving God,
  5. wanted to turn from those wrongdoings,
  6. wanted to have a relationship with the loving Father God,
  7. recognized that the only way for that is to be perfect,
  8. recognized that God has provided a way for that,
    1. He sent his eternal son Jesus, who is also God, to earth,
    2. Jesus is perfect,
    3. Jesus took on the punishments for all the person’s wrongs in the person’s place,
    4. Jesus rose from the dead and is now sitting with Father God showing that,
      1. He’s God,
      2. the person will live after death as well, and
      3. so that the Christian can live a new life on earth.
  9. accepted God’s solution to the problem
  10. can now live a life where the Spirit of God, who is also God, makes him more and more like Jesus until the day he dies and goes to Father God. (This implies that he can’t make himself better in the same way that he could not save himself)

This is who Kanye West is to me, a Christian. God Himself has shown mercy on Kanye, has eternally forgiven for his wrongs, and is making Kanye like Himself and for Himself.

(Warning: Do not skim!) “If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Romans 14:8).

The World Around Me (Diya Jale Pics and Videos Included!)

Posted on by

On Saturday, a group of Rose Scholars, GRF Sam, and I went out to Diya Jale, a showcase that celebrates Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

I was touched by GRF Sam’s willingness to give up his ticket for a Rose Scholar; his act of kindness ignited an appreciation for the people around me, and, for me, this appreciation set the mood for the rest of the show.

1Rose Scholar Diya Jale Video 2

Usually, in performance organizations, performers are told to smile all of the time, whether they meant it or not. However, I feel that some of the performers meant it. Members of organizations such as Cornell Bhangra beamed as they danced and jumped over and over and over again! Their energy made me smile; I’m so glad that they had fun.

1Rose Scholar Diya Jale Video1

As for the audience, there was a section of students who would not stop shouting at the performers the whole time! They, too, created an atmosphere of familiarity and a sense of belonging; I’m glad to have witnessed their camaraderie.

Lastly, I loved that the actor Omi Vaidya showed appreciation for the president of Cornell’s Society for India and that she, in turn, thanked some important people in her life. From that, I got this sense of a “I may not know you very well, but I got your back” type of sentiment. It was all very beautiful and worthwhile going to.

A Starry Night: Beauty in Nature

Posted on by

It was a pleasure meeting Graham Ottoson last night and hearing about her work with gourds. In a day and age where bland, clean, modern style is popular, her work was a breath of fresh air as she helped me see how we can preserve natural beauty and use it to decorate our homes.

She scraped and polished the gourds to bring out their rich dark brown color. When she light up one of her finished gourds with holes in it, she revealed a starry pattern on the already beautiful gourd.

I immediately thought that such a gourd belongs in a warm small house, lit by a fireplace with cozy red rugs lining the hardwood floors. Even in trying to depict the Milky Way Galaxy on my pear-shaped gourd, I wanted to preserve the simple and earthy impression I got from the gourd. This experience has brought back my appreciation for a warm, organic aesthetic in my surroundings. I am inspired to appreciate more the beauty outdoors as well as indoors.

Steady My Heart: Wisdom in Pumpkin Painting

Posted on by

As I rushed to get a pumpkin, I scoured the room for paint and paint brushes. With no particular design in mind, I grabbed an abandoned palette of attractive colors, and one odd gold color. Since I realized that the gold color matched that of the pumpkin, I decided to paint it onto the pumpkin, hoping that an idea would pop into my head as I painted.

Usually, when I approach a task, I don’t do anything. I sit there, staring into space trying to figure out the best course of action based on all of the possible consequences of my actions. All of them. If I was choosing an outfit, for example,  I would first stand there thinking about the decision because I am too anxious about starting, but at some point, I would choose a shirt and put it back only to pull it again, all the while pondering my decision. This troublesome and time consuming process of overthinking caused me to try another technique: just do anything.

When it comes to pumpkin painting, this approach did not work too well, either. I felt that by painting in random spots on my pumpkin, I was tackling this task immaturely and ultimately wasting time and paint. I knew that before doing anything, its good to plan, reasonably, of course; I can’t just do things without thinking. When I stopped my aimless painting, that is when I got an idea, and a good one: paint the pumpkin’s indents white. And now I have a beautiful white striped pumpkin in my room! 😀

Issues with the news and US politics

Posted on by

Last week, I had the opportunity to listen to Professor Ken Roberts talk about the U.S. Presidential Campaign. While we discussed the current talk on impeaching President Donald Trump and the likelihood of certain democratic candidates succeeding in the 2020 campaign, I was thinking of two issues.

Firstly, some people try their best to avoid politics. When any issue about Trump or presidents arise whether in media or in conversation, the initial reaction for some could be pulling their ears or changing the channel. Listening to Professor Roberts reminded me of the complexity of the issue, which could be another push factor. This attitude could be accompanied with refusing to voice one’s opinion or not voting at all. I wonder what can mitigate this issue.

Secondly, polling on voter opinions are no longer trustworthy. Professor Roberts touched upon the fact that many Trump supporters were hidden from pollsters before the 2016 Presidential election causing the pollsters to forecast Hillary Clinton’s success. The Trump supporters simply did not take polling surveys. It makes me wonder how pollsters can possibly tell who will win the 2020 election.

Still, questions such as these almost make my roll my eyes; it is difficult to take presidential elections seriously after the last one.

For the Church

Posted on by

A day before this week’s Table Talk, Christian journalist Andy Crouch gave an excellent talk on the Church as an institution. In the Bible’s New Testament, a man named Paul stated that while Jesus ascended into heaven after being raised from the dead, he gave gifts to certain people, particularly prophets and teachers, so that they could benefit the Church.

(The capital “C” Church refers to all Christians in the world who are born again, who know and believe that Jesus the Son of God took on all their wrongdoings, took the punishment for that by dying, and came back to life so that they also have a new life, have a peaceful relationship with God the Father who now forgives all their wrongs forever, and they have the choice not to turn back to their old bad ways to show their love for God and Jesus who is also God. This is called “The Gospel.”)

Based on the model in the New Testament, some Christians believe that the gifts that they have are for the benefit for the Church. They ignore calls to “pursue your passion” because it is God who is working through them to do what he desires, which is mainly creating a place where everything is good. I am currently waiting on Him as he slowly unveils what he would like me to do. In the Table Talk, Andy Crouch and his wife pointed out a huge need in the Church: to know that the “Science and Religion” debate has already been solved in the research field. God is known to be the Orchestrator of scientific phenomenon; it’s just that the general public hasn’t caught on for 100 years.

What could benefit the Church is bridging the gap between scientific knowledge and general public knowledge since, as Andy’s wife Catherine pointed out, knowing about creation helps know more about God and gives even more cause to praise him. Moreover, this is extremely important for the Church, specifically for bridging the gap in between God and everything else in the world (such as homework and studies) in the Christian mind. God has so much to say about how the world began but also about how we manage our money, how we eat, and our career journeys.

Christians need to know how he thinks about these things not only to know their First Love more and “walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received (the new heaven and new earth)” but also to share his mind with other Christians. This leads to benefiting the whole Church with Truth and leads to unity (Ephesians 4:1).

“We [together] will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, [Jesus]” (Ephesians 4:15).

2 Eye Opening Facts

Posted on by

It was good to see Julia Felippe sharing her experiences to answer to the needs of both graduate and undergraduate students.

One of the things that she mentioned that struck me was that students should not box themselves into a career too early on, and she re-stated this when I talked with her afterwards. In her own life, she went through several twist and turns and dealt with uncertainly or many years. She only landed where she is now due to trial and error. I liked how she emphasized freedom to choose in her explanation.

Another thing that she mentioned that interested me was her work on animals. Although she focuses on benefiting the animal, she inevitably ends up helping humans because of the physiological similarities between us. She is able to do what she likes and yet her work is more far reaching than what she anticipates. I find that to be inspiring and encouraging

Self Defense in Myanmar: A Perspective Shift

Posted on by

I spent an interesting morning with Kyaw Thein this past Saturday and appreciated that she shared some of her background. Kyaw grew up in Myanmar and was lead to use karate to help other women after she graduated college. Usually in her explanations of the self defense movements, Kyaw explained the context in which women find themselves and what women usually do in those contexts.

Her explanations and fact that we were performing these movements as if we were really being attacked really put things into perspective for me. Kyaw dealt with real women who were unable to fend off their attackers, which could be their significant others or even police officers. I was able to sympathize with those women and saw that Kyaw’s movements were enabling to women so that they do not feel and are not helpless in these situations.

Kyaw mentioned that critics of her workshops thought that her classes were useless, which I found curious. Maybe they thought that attackers were too strong or that her movements were too simple. I’m not sure. What I do know is that is this workshop helped me; it enabled me to defend myself and it shifted my perspective on the topic of assault, and that I am grateful for.

Analyzing Visual Media

Posted on by

Some of the aspects of films and videos that directors use the impact us include sound, the movement of the camera, editing, and the actual objects in and/or physical properties of the scene.

During the “How to Write a Blog Post” event this Thursday night, Zach talked about how to analyze films since a lot of our events will be film screenings. I enjoyed his explanations since I am taking a class that urges students to look at media content critically. I was especially interested in Zach’s example of the impact editing can have on the viewer: in a horror film, the director typically uses sound to build tension right before the scary ghost comes out and then a smash cut, or an abrupt transition, to the ghost to scare the viewer. Because of Zach’s explanations, I was able to see other ways that visual media is able to effect or, in a way, manipulate its viewers besides the ways that I hear of in class.

Analyzing the film was also a cool way to talk with some of my floormates. Even after the event, we got to talk more which is always cool!